Let there be Breathing Lights

Lead architect Barbara Nelson, center, and lead artist Adam Frelin, right, talk about the installation of the Breathing Lights urban art project on Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2016 at 162 Clinton Ave. in Albany, N.Y. All Mighty General Contractors are installing the light panels. (Cindy Schultz / Times Union)

ALBANY — Representatives of Breathing Lights, the Capital Region’s large-scale public art project, were joined by Mayors Kathy Sheehan of Albany, Gary McCarthy of Schenectady and Patrick Madden of Troy on Tuesday to speak with a WMHT film crew about the project and its impact on the region at 162 Clinton Ave.,an Albany installation site.

Breathing Lights is one of four winners of the Bloomberg Philanthropies Public Art Challenge, selected from 237 city applicants nationwide. This temporary art project will illuminate the windows of hundreds of vacant buildings throughout Albany, Schenectady and Troy, creating a community conversation piece and vibrant art in neighborhoods with high vacancy rates. The unprecedented installation will be supported by eight months of programming and events across the three cities.